Burn It down (3)

Looking around the abandoned church, she was not surprised by how decaying it was. Thalia, Luke and she had slept in worse places, like garbage cans or public toilets. She wasn't even struck by the putrid smell flooding her nostrils, no. She focused her attention was on the back of the boy sitting on the altar steps, staring at the church doors.

"Oh, Percy," said Sammy, laughing with amusement.

She walked over to him and hugged him around the neck.

"Careful, Sammy, I'm not quite recovered yet," said Percy, massaging his shoulder.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry," she said.

At that moment Annabeth decided to approach him. Her mind was still a little foggy due to the fever and her body felt weak, but she wanted to talk to the boy who helped her and her friends.

"Your name is Percy, right?" asked Annabeth, a little hesitantly.

Percy looked at her sideways. He didn't say anything, just nodded his head.

"Thank you very much... You helped us in a time of need, even though we never met. So, thank you."

"As I told the blond boy, it's not me you should be thanking," said Percy absently, "It's Sammy."

"Oh come on, take the compliment, man," said Thalia, who was standing behind Sammy. She walked up to Percy and tapped him on the shoulder "Don't be a bitter jerk."

That action surprised Annabeth. Not because of her friend's words, but because of her behavior. Thalia was a very reserved girl. She acted brusque, rude and curt with people they didn't know, but here she was acting normal, as if Percy belonged to a friend she had known for quite some time. Maybe that was her way of expressing gratitude, or maybe she just liked him.

Percy gave her a slightly annoyed look. At least Thalia was gracious enough not to punch him in the injured shoulder.

"All right, punk girl, it's your turn to stand guard," said Percy, getting up and walking over to Luke, "You and I will go out and get some stuff."

"Hey, I told you my name is Thalia," she complained.

"What stuff?" asked Luke, ignoring his friend's complaint.

"Don't ignore me, damn it!"

"Basic personal hygiene stuff," said Percy, "Toothpaste and toothbrush, a couple of towels, bath soaps and .... deodorants," he said, giving Luke a sidelong glance.

"Why are you looking at me like that," asked Luke, slightly uncomfortable.

"It's because you smell really bad."

"Hey, that's not true, is it? is it?" he asked, looking at the girls.

"Hey... Well... "said Thalia, avoiding his gaze, "There's nothing to be ashamed of, Luke. We've been out on the streets a lot, and we haven't had a proper bath in weeks. It's normal that... our smell is a bit unpleasant."

"But you two don't smell bad," said Sammy, looking at Thalia and Annabeth, "It's him who smells like a pack of dogs pissed on him," she finished, pointing her finger at Luke.

Thalia snorted in amusement under Luke's look of annoyance and discomfort. Annabeth felt like, if her body wasn't weak enough, she would burst out laughing right then and there.

"All right, all right, let's go-Luke said to Percy, impatience in his voice-Thalia will keep an eye on the place while we're gone."

"Hey, why do I have to stay?" asked Thalia.

"Because you and Percy are the only ones who have weapons to defend yourselves against the monsters. You have your spear and Percy has his knife. If you two go together, we won't have any weapons to kill the monsters."

"Okay... I'll go stand guard at the entrance-she reluctantly agreed. Then she walked over to Percy and whispered in his ear-Make sure you get the most effective deodorant."

Percy looked at her and nodded.

Annabeth didn't know it, but it was the first time Thalia and Percy had ever agreed on anything.

"Fire! Something's burning!"

!What?! Damn it! Where the hell is the fire extinguisher?!!

Shouts of disbelief and curses to no one in specific began to be heard throughout the gas station, as flames advanced up the walls, corroding everything in their path. The gas attendant did not know that the fire had been "accidentally" set by one of the customers who had just entered just a few minutes ago.

Percy didn't know what was going on. Only moments ago he had had a bottle of alcohol in his hands. The next thing he knew, the bottle of alcohol had spilled its entire contents all over the floor as a lit match accidentally fell on the spilled liquid. He was completely bewildered, while the store manager extinguished the flames with a fire extinguisher. One has to be very careful these days. After all, accidents are quite frequent.

"What the hell happened," wondered the manager, as he extinguished the last of the flames.

While the man checked to see if the fire hadn't damaged any merchandise, Percy slipped stealthily out the door as he grabbed a bag of potato chips and tucked it under his T-shirt. A T-shirt that had been changed into one exactly like the previous one, due to the fact that it was full of grime and dried blood. He walked out quietly so as not to arouse suspicion and stepped into an alley that was slightly illuminated by the city lights.

He looked to see if anyone was following him, or if there were people around. Seeing that no one was in sight, he relaxed and sighed.

"It's okay, there's no one," said Percy, "You can come out."

Taking that as his cue, Luke appeared from behind a trash can. A big smile graced his face as he carried two bags full of food, drinks and other goodies they had taken while the store manager put out the fire.

"Mission accomplished, boss," Luke said, proudly showing off the grocery bags, "The distraction was perfect, although I wasn't expecting something so flashy."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"I think it worked too well. I wouldn't be surprised if he called the fire department or something."

"Then we'd better get going. I don't want to get in trouble with the authorities again."

"You roared already, tiger."

Percy looked at him slightly annoyed by his nicknames, but thought not to say anything. He had helped him get what he needed from that store and he had done it very well. Usually it was Percy who was in charge of taking things while Sammy acted like a lost little girl. His methods were more subtle when he worked with her, but he lacked that subtlety and rewarded her with intensity...maybe too much intensity.

"We'd better hurry," Luke insisted, "Thalia's not a very patient person. She tends to get a little cranky when she's kept waiting."

"More than usual?" asked Percy, absently as he started walking down the sidewalk.

He pulled out the bag of potato chips he had stashed and opened it. Luke walked beside him and was surprised when Percy held out the bag, prompting him to take some. He smiled and grabbed a couple of chips.

"Oh, you have no idea," Luke said, letting out a tired sigh as he bit into some fries, "She's the most impatient person I've ever met. And I've met a lot of people."

"But you still travel with her."

"Yes...we met about six months ago in a dragon's cave. She almost stabbed me with her spear."